


Botan Doro

by Eldritch



Category: Onmyouji
Genre: Gen, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-25
Updated: 2007-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-02 19:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eldritch/pseuds/Eldritch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's more to the story than meets the eye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Botan Doro

In late summer, the body of a certain Ki no Saburo was found dead on the grave of the woman who had once been his fiancee. He was wrapped around the grave marker in a romantic embrace, a look of peace on his face.

The talk of ghosts began that very afternoon.

\---

"And you are quite sure you would not prefer a monk to perform this exorcism for you?" Seimei asked, gathering his kariginu under him in a practiced movement and kneeling on the tatami floor.

Keiko-hime covered her mouth with the corner of her sleeve to hide her laugh. "Ara, is that really an appropriate question for such a famous onmyouji to ask? Could it be that you're afraid of this ghost, Seimei-dono?"

"Not at all," he murmured, his lips quirking into an unreadable smile. "I would merely warn you that a monk would ask fewer questions." Long-fingered hands drew a thin candle from the front of his robes and carefully placed it in front of him.

"I assure you that if your questions can put my sister's ghost to rest, I will answer all of them." Keiko-hime set her full lips in a thin, determined line. "She deserves better than to wander like this."

Seimei inclined his head in agreement. "Princess, will you close the screens and extinguish the lanterns? This candle I have should be our only light."

"How frightening! But as you wish, Seimei-dono." With a rustle of many-colored silks, Keiko-hime did as she was told. The shoji screen slid shut with an oddly final _click_. Only when the lantern had been doused and Keiko-hime was seated across from him, the candle between them, did Seimei break the darkness with the flame of a match. He lit the candle with an almost reverent motion.

Shadows danced around the small room in the flickering light of the candle, casting an unearthly tint to the onmyouji's face. The high planes of his cheekbones stood out in sharp relief, and his eyes glittered black in the flame's dancing light. Keiko-hime drew a sharp breath.

"Now," Seimei said, his voice low and serious, "shall we begin? Remind me of the circumstances surrounding your sister's untimely demise."

"Y-yes!" the princess stuttered, snapping herself out of her trance. "Maa, I'm sure you know the story. It was quite the court gossip this summer."

"Indeed. But as she is haunting you, I would like to hear it in your own words."

Keiko-hime inclined her head, her long hair slipping over her shoulders. "My younger sister... Otsuyu was a sweet and lovely girl. Everyone adored her. Especially Saburo-dono. You've heard of him, of course, since he was such an up-and-coming young clerk... poor Saburo-dono." Here she paused for a moment, inhaling with a shudder. "In any case, when asked for her hand in marriage, we were overjoyed. He gave her a peony lantern that was her most prized possession. But then, this spring, she became ill. There was nothing anyone could do, and she slipped away in her sleep." She ended on a choked sob, bowing her head further.

Seimei waited in silence for the princess to compose herself, his expression unreadable.

"But that wasn't the worst of it," she continued at last with a renewed determination. "You see, she came back from the grave during the summer! Each night she visited Saburo-dono, peony lantern in tow. Saburo-dono, who had loved her so dearly in life that he was overjoyed to see Otsuyu again, even if she was dead. And in the end, she dragged him back to her world with her! They found his body on her grave, embracing the marker!" Keiko-hime's hands fisted in her lap, trembling. "And that's... that's when..."

"Ah," Seimei said. "That is when she began to haunt you, as well."

"Yes!" Keiko-hime's head shot up fast enough that the candle flickered. "Seimei-dono, I'm so afraid! She must want me to join her, as well!"

"A terrible fate indeed." For the first time since the candle had been lit, Seimei's face began to show expression. It was not a pleasant one, his lips curving into a knowing smirk. "After all, who would want to be at the mercy of the woman they murdered?"

Silence reigned for a long moment. Finally, Keiko-hime forced a laugh, her eyes wild. "Seimei-dono, what an awful joke! As I said, my poor sister was ill..."

Seimei quirked an eyebrow. "I believe poison does tend to do that."

There was silence once again.

"If you're so certain you know what happened," the princess said slowly, wringing her hands, "why don't you share with me?"

A slight chuckle escaped Seimei's lips. "Very well. It is as you said. Everyone was fond of Otsuyu-hime, save for yourself. You see, the late, pathetic Saburo-dono was the object of your affections, as well. Which is exactly why you decided to murder your younger sister. Her promised husband would no doubt take you for his wife once she was dead."

Keiko-hime made a small noise.

"Of course, he did no such thing. Desperate, you took to dressing as your sister's ghost to spend time with him. You even brought her lantern with you. But eventually, he caught on to your scheme, and you were forced to kill him as well. Bringing him to Otsuyu-dono's grave was a brilliant move." Seimei leaned forwards slightly. "Of course, it's also what awakened the real Otsuyu's ghost."

"Y-you have no proof!" Keiko-hime suddenly screeched, scrambling to her feet and leveling an accusing finger at the onmyouji. Her pretty face had been transformed into a mask of rage. "How dare you come to my home and make such horrible accusations!"

"Oya, was it not you who invited me in, Princess?" Seimei asked, sounding amused. "And I did warn you that a monk would ask fewer questions. By the way, whatever happened to that peony lantern?"

Her shoulders shaking with fear and anger, Keiko-hime scowled. "What does it matter?"

As an answer, Seimei merely pointed behind her, to the shoji screen that lead to the outside garden. The faint red glow of a lantern illuminated the darkness of the night just enough for the shadowed form of a young women with long, messy hair. She held the lantern in one hand. The other was pressed up agaist the screen.

Keiko-hime screamed.

"Well." Seimei stood, careful not to disturb the candle. "You'll find that you're perfectly safe from her as long as this candle burns. I wonder if it will last until morning?"

"Seimei-dono!" the princess gasped desperately, her hands clutching at his trailing sleeves. "Please! Please, you said you'd lay her to rest!"

Seimei tugged his sleeves from her grasp. "And I intend to."

"Then why--?"

"This," he murmured, "is a part of it."

\---

When Hiromasa saw his friend emerge from Keiko-hime's manor at last, Seimei's face was drawn and tired. "Seimei?" he called, hesitantly. "How did it go?"

"Otsuyu-hime's ghost will be appeased," Seimei said. He took his tate-eboshi from Hiromasa's hands and placed it on his head, tucking his hair up under it. "There's only two final things to do."

"Eh? What's that?"

"Fulfill her final wish. And deliver her lantern to her grave when she's finished." With that enigmatic statement, Seimei began to walk briskly down the street.

Hiromasa stared dumbly after him for a second, then ran after him. "When she's finished? What does that mean, Seimei? Hey, Seimei...!"

Seimei didn't answer.

\---

In late fall, not long after the sun had risen, a mourner discovered several strange things about the grave of Fujiwara no Otsuyu. Two sake cups, like those used in a marriage ceremony, rested at the its foot. A delicate red lantern with a peony motif sat on the stone marker at its head.

And several meters away lay the corpse of Otsuyu-hime's elder sister, her face frozen in a silent scream of terror.

So they say.


End file.
